Michael Caine has retired, bringing the curtain down on a wonderful career with The Great Escaper, in cinemas now.
There’s been a few stories of this ilk circulating for the last couple of weeks, but this report may be the definitive one.
Sir Michael Caine has been talking about retiring from acting for many years, first saying he was finished, then claiming he was set to play Charles Darwin in a final role before telling the BBC Radio 4’s Today talk show that no, he is indeed now retired and The Great Escaper was his final film.
Caine spoke a little about why the film, currently in cinemas, seems like the right moment for him to step away. “Funnily enough, I’d retired when I was sent the script, and I turned it down three times, but I kept falling in love with him every time I read it, and so I did it,” he said. “I kept saying I’m gonna retire.”
The timing seems right for the 90-year old actor given that the warm reception to The Great Escaper means he’ll step away from acting off the back of strong reviews and after playing a role he clearly relished.
Read more: The Great Escaper review | An emotional true story
“Well, I am now [retired] because I figured, I’ve had a picture where I’ve played the lead, and it’s got incredible reviews. The only parts I’m likely to get now are old men, 90-year-old men – well, maybe 85, you know? And I thought ‘well, I might as well leave with all this. I’ve got wonderful reviews. What am I gonna do to beat this?”
He talked about getting another script through, counting the number of pages involved, and realised it was more of a supporting role. Whether that was the Darwin project or not is unclear.
Still, it seems that Caine won’t be playing Darwin after all, then, but he walks away from acting on his own terms at a grand old age having given us more golden moments than we can count. Power to him and we hope he enjoys those lie-ins.
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